Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The presidency has lamented that the manual and paper system of managing data and records are limited, thus, having adverse effect to the healthcare delivery in the country.
Towards this end, it said efforts were being put in place to ensure that tertiary and secondary healthcare delivery facilities migrate from manual to electronic Health Management Information System (HMIS).
The Acting Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Dr. Habiba Lawal, made this known in Abuja at the 4th International Workshop on the Application of ICT in Education, Healthcare and Agriculture, organised by the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development (COMSATs), the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO) and Inter-Islamic Network on Information Technology (INIT), in collaboration with the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Lawal who was represented by Dr. Amina Shamaki, said the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in all spheres of human endeavour is now a reality and this phenomenon has come to be part and parcel of civilisation development.
She said the workshop was aimed at strengthening the capacity of software developers and researchers involved in designing practical applications to address developmental problems in the areas of agriculture, health and education.
The acting SGF noted that unlike the education sector where most examination bodies and tertiary institutions in the country conduct enrollment, applications, registrations, payments and even assessments for selection are done through the help of ICT, health sector was yet to be fully impacted.
She revealed that other areas such as tele-medicine- the delivery of clinical presence in remote health services; mobile health-using mobile communications for providing remote health services and information, were being explored with a number of public-private partnerships to assuage the cost of implementation and sustainability.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, said the present administration was resolved to ensure that Nigeria moves in the same direction with other countries of the world in utilising science, technology and innovation to drive economy that would effectively utilise a dynamic ICT infrastructure to help transform the country.
